The Problem of the Day

Volume X - Sufi Mysticism

The Path of Initiation and Discipleship

The Attitude of a Disciple

A mureed's attitude towards life must be hopeful;
towards his motives, courageous; towards his murshid,
faithful; towards the cause, sincere; towards that object
which he has to accomplish, earnest without the slightest
doubt. In every aspect of life, it is our attitude that
counts and which, in the end, proves to be creative of all
kinds of phenomena. Both success and failure depend upon
it, as in the Hindu saying, 'If the attitude is right, then
all will come right.'

There is a natural tendency for the seeker on the spiritual
path to wonder if he is really progressing. Very often,
he begins to wonder from the day he sets foot on the path.
It is like asking, 'Shall I be able to digest?' while one
is still eating. The spiritual path leads to selflessness.
The more we worry about ourselves, the less progress we
make because our whole striving should be to forget the
self. It is mostly the self which obstructs the path. The
path is made for the soul, and it is natural and easy for
the soul to find it. Therefore, when a person is wondering
about his progress, he is wasting his time. It is like standing
still on the path on which one must go forward.

Can anyone distinguish how his face and body change day
by day? No, for one cannot point out distinct signs of change
from one day to another. If one cannot properly distinguish
any change in the external self, then how can one expect
to distinguish change in the inner process? It is not something
that can be weighed on the scales as one weighs oneself
on coming back from a holiday and sees that one has gained
or lost several pounds. There is no such gain in spiritual
progress.

Then there are some who imagine that they have progressed
for a certain time, but they are then going backward. They
are discouraged and say, 'I thought I had arrived somewhere,
but surely it must have been an illusion.' But life is like
the sea, and the sea is not always calm. There are times
when the sea is rough, and then the boat naturally moves
up and down. To think while the boat is moving downward
that it will sink is a mistake. It is going down in order
to go up. This is its movement, and this is natural. A
mureed is subject to such experiences on the path
of life. Life will take its own course. The one who sails
will many times meet with a rough sea, and he has to be
prepared for this and not be frightened or discouraged.
He still has to go on through life. If life's journey were
soft and smooth, then there would be no need for spiritual
development. He has to have control of the rudder to be
able to go through both calm seas and storms.

Sometimes the mureed wonders what others are saying
and if they are displeased or pleased. If they are displeased,
then he thinks he is not progressing. However, this has
nothing to do with progress. Those who are displeased would
be displeased even with Jesus Christ. At the same time,
they might be pleased with the worst person. The displeasure
of others does not mean that one is not progressing.

If conditions are adverse, then the mureed thinks
that he is not on the right path. Does this mean that the
ship is not on its right course if a storm meets it? Neither
the murshid nor God are responsible if the conditions
are adverse. The best thing is to meet them, to be more
brave and courageous and to make one's way through them.
Ghazali, the great Sufi writer of Persia, says that spiritual
progress is like shooting at a target in the dark. We do
not know where the target is, we do not see it, but we shoot
just the same.

The true ideal of the spiritual person is not great power,
nor a great amount of knowledge. His true ideal stands beyond
power and knowledge; it is that which is limitless, incomprehensible,
nameless and formless. There are no milestones to count.
One cannot say, 'I have gone so many miles, and there are
so many still before me.' This does not belong to a spiritual
journey. The pursuit of the limitless is limitless. The
pursuit of the formless, is formless. One cannot make it
tangible. So, then, what is it that assures progress, what
evidence have we to go on? There is only one evidence, and
that is our belief. There is one assurance, and that is
our faith. If we believe we can go on, if we are convinced
we will, then we must reach our goal.

There are innumerable outer signs of one's progress,
but one need not think in the absence of these signs that
one is not progressing. What are these signs of progress?
The first is that one feels inspiration, and that things
which one could not understand yesterday are easy today.
Yet, if there are things which one is not ready to understand,
then one should have patience until tomorrow. Agitating
against lack of inspiration means closing the doors to inspiration.
Agitation is not allowed on this path. Agitation disturbs
our rhythm and paralyzes us, and then we prove in the end
to be our own worst enemy. However, people will generally
not admit this, and they will blame others instead. Or,
if they have kind feelings towards others, then they blame
the circumstances, although very often it is their own lack
of patience rather than other people or the conditions.

The next sign of progress is that one begins to feel
power. To some extent, it may manifest physically and also
mentally. Later, the power may manifest in one's affairs
in life. As spiritual pursuit is endless, so power has no
end.

The third sign of progress is that one begins to feel
a joy, a happiness. In spite of that feeling, however, it
is possible that clouds of depression and despair may come
from without, and one might think at that moment that all
the happiness and joy which one had gained spiritually was
snatched away. But that is not so. If spiritual joy could
be snatched away, it would not be spiritual joy. It is not
like material comforts. When these are taken away from us,
we have lost them; but spiritual joy is ours, it is our
property, and no death or decay can take it away from us.
Changing clouds like those which surround the sun might
surround our joy; but when they are scattered, we will find
our property still there in our own heart. It is something
we can depend upon, something nobody can take away from
us.

There is another sign of progress, and that is that one
becomes fearless. Whatever the situation is in life, nothing
seems to frighten one anymore, even death. Then one becomes
fearless in all that might seem frightening and a brave
spirit develops, a spirit that gives one patience and strength
to struggle against all adverse conditions, however terrible
they may seem. It can even develop to such an extent that
one would like to fight with death. To such a person, nothing
seems so horrible that he would feel helpless before it.

Still another sign of progress is that, at times, one
begins to feel peaceful. This may increase so much that
a restful feeling comes in the heart. One might be in the
solitude, but even if one is in a crowd, one still feels
restful. Life in the world is most exciting; it has a tiring
effect upon a sensitive person. When one is restless, the
conditions in life can make one experience the greatest
discomfort, for there is no greater pain than restlessness.
If there is any remedy for the lack of peace, it is spiritual
progress. Once peace is developed in a soul, that soul feels
such a great power and has such a great influence upon those
who approach it and upon all upsetting conditions and jarring
influences coming from all sides. Just as water makes the
dust settle down, so all jarring influences settle down
under the feet of the peaceful.

What do we learn from the story told in the Bible of
Daniel, who was thrown into the lion's den? What does this
story suggest? Was it Daniel's hypnotism which calmed the
lions? If it was hypnotism, then let the hypnotists of today
go to the lions and try the experience! No, it was his inner
peace. The influence of that peace acts so powerfully upon
all passions that it even calms lions and makes them sleep.

One may make the excuse that one's surroundings are worrying
one, that one's friends are troublesome, or that one's enemies
are horrible. However, nothing can withstand that peace
that is awakened in the heart. All must calm down, all must
settle down, like dust after water has been sprinkled on
it.

If this power does not come immediately to a mureed,
then let him not be disappointed. Can one expect this whole
journey to be made in a week? I would not be surprised if
many mureeds do expect this; but it is a lifelong
journey, and those who have really accomplished it are the
ones who have never doubted that they would progress. They
have never allowed this doubt to enter their minds to hinder
them. They do not even concern themselves with this question.
They only know that they must reach the goal, that they
will reach it, and that if they do not reach it today, that
they will reach it tomorrow. The right attitude is never
to let one's mind feel, after one has taken some steps,
that one must go to the right or to the left. If a man has
that one strength, of faith, then that is all the power
that he needs on the path. He can go forward and nothing
will hinder him. In the end, he will accomplish his purpose.